Chapter 19
As Silver passed through the entrance of the clinic, he departed with more questions than answers. How was Diamond able to freeze two of his guards? Why did he do it? Where was he now? These questions and more occupied the king's mind so much, that once again he was brought out of his train of thought as he slammed into another hard surface, said surface being the carriage this time around.
“Blast!” Silver barked, rubbing his snout with his forehooves.
Luna stuck her head out the window, a small smile on her muzzle.
“We might have suggested using one’s hoof to knock,” she said as she opened the door to the carriage. “But using thine skull seems just as effective.”
Silver grumbled to himself as he hopped into the carriage and took his seat.
“Coachpony,” Luna yelled, sticking her head out the window once more. “Back to the castle at once.”
As the carriage began to move, she returned her gaze to Silver. Her smile quickly changed to a look of concern.
“We hope stopping the guards somehow aided in your quest for knowledge? Pray tell, what did thy learn?”
Silver dragged a foreleg down his face and let loose a heavy sigh.
“I do thank you for that Luna, unfortunately I only come back with more questions than answers.”
Silver went on to explain his experience inside the clinic, going over every detail in his head as he told the princess in an attempt to make any sense of the situation. He tried desperately to remember anything that he might have missed that would help all the pieces fall into order.
“Goodness,” Luna said as Silver finished. “We find this all quite hard to take in, to say the least.”
“How do you think I feel?” Silver asked, taking a long, heavy sigh as he gazed out the window. “But unfortunately, this is all I have to go on for the time being.”
Luna placed a hoof on Silver’s shoulder, prompting him to turn his head.
“Worry not, my friend,” she said, taking on a reassuring tone. “We’re sure that all will become clear very soon, and We will gladly help in any way possible.”
Silver gave a weak smile and placed his hoof over Luna’s.
“Thank you, Luna,” he said before gently sliding the appendage off his shoulder. “But right now I think it best to just get back to my quarters and prepare my leave.”
Luna nodded and withdrew her hoof.
“We understand,” she said, turning her gaze elsewhere. “This whole incident sits uneasy with us. What kind of sorcery allows for an earth pony to best two guards using frost magic and then using the facial hair that they suddenly sprouted to take flight?”
There was something about that description that stuck out in the young king’s mind. It was as if the image was in a dream or was a distant memory. Whatever it was, it refused to make itself known to the king and remained a constant source of frustration.
“Silver?” Luna said.
“Y-yes, Lunam” the king replied, shaking himself out of yet another bout of deep thought.
“We’ve been meaning to ask, and We apologize if this is too forward, but how long hath thee had the cut upon thine flank?”
“Cut?” He asked, tilting his head. “What on earth do you mean?”
“There is a rather ghastly cut upon thine hindquarters that we did not notice from last night. Did thou somehow injure thyself?”
“Luna,” Silver said, tilting his head toward his flank. “I’m not sure what you mean, but I’m positive there isn’t a—”
Silver stopped, his eyes expanding and his pupils shrinking to pin pricks. Stretching along his right flank was a single cut.
As he stared upon the cut, all the events from last night became clear. Him going to confront Celestia only to find an empty room, the discovery of the passage, the green light, the conversation, how he received said cut—and the creature. The creature whose description matched the description of Diamond as told by both Opal and doctor Double Check. And the same creature that bore the crown of The Ice King.
His eyes shot immediately back to Luna.
“I must return to my kingdom this very instant!”
Luna’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak.
“Coachstalion,” Silver shouted. “Back to the castle at castle at once!”
The carriage increased in speed as requested, bounding down the cobblestone streets.
Silver stuck his head back inside and turned his attention to Luna.
“Luna, I apologize for the sudden request, but might I borrow your guards?”
Luna shook her head, her eyes widened as she struggled to speak.
“W-whatever for?” she stuttered out.
“They’re the fastest flyers in all the known kingdoms, they’ll cut a three day trip back to the Crystal Empire in half, now please, yes or no!?”
“Y-yes,” Luna said, still taken aback from Silver’s sudden and abrupt change in demeanor. “Silver, what on Equis is this about?”
“Honestly, Luna,” he said, gazing into the Princess’ eyes. “I don’t know, but I can only pray I can make it back in time to stop whatever is about to happen.”
------------------------------------
Silence reigned throughout the forest. The birds, the frogs, and even the insects, were all absent.
The group of man-bulls—plus one Multi-Bear and human—huddled together in a circle, their backs facing each other’s and their eyes scanning the forest around them.
“Do you hear anything,” Chutzpar asked, his ears swiveling back and forth.
“Nothing,” the Multi-Bear responded.
“Guys,” Dipper said in a hushed tone, his eyes darting between the two beings. “Does someone want to maybe fill me in here?”
“Plain and simple, Destructor,” Chutzpar said, turning his head to the boy. “Whatever’s been tracking us has been using the forest as cover.”
As Chutzpar explained, the crackling and crunching of the abundant wood scattered throughout the forest floor could be heard as the group occasionally moved their hooves, shifting their weight from one side to the other.
“Indeed,” the Multi-Bear said, his eyes still on the forest. “Our foe isn’t just using the forest as cover, it somehow is the forest at the same time, only giving off a small hint of dark magic that we are only now picking up on since we’re in the thick of it.”
“Wait,” said Dipper, becoming weary of the increasing noise of wood clicking and crunching. “Did you just say it is the forest?” He asked, his eyes widening and a drop of sweat running from his brow.
“Yes,” The Multi-Bear said, attempting to talk over the growing noise. “Why—”
“Hey!” Chutzpar shouted, “Keep it down, I can’t hear a thing with you bozos stomping!”
“It’s not me!” One of the man-bulls shouted. “It’s Headcruncher!”
“What!?” An adjacent manataur said turning to his neighbor. “It’s probably you, cause you’re so scared!” he said, now shouting over the sound of creaking wood.
“I’ll show you how scared I am!” The manatuar said as he reeled back his arm and clenched his fist.
“I don’t care who it is,” Chutzpar said turning around. “Just knock it—”
Chutzpar stopped mid sentence as his eyes fell directly to the middle of the circle. He’d only manage to just throw Dipper to the Multi-Bear before he was tackled to the forest floor by a timberwolf.
“Chutzpar!” Dipper screamed as the Multi-Bear caught him in his paws.
The timberwolf snapped relentlessly at Chutzpar, clawing dozens of scratches into the man-bull’s chest as it attempted to wrap its jaws around his neck. Unfortunately for the beast, its size was only half its prey’s and its jaws were only met with Chutzpar’s left arm as he held the creature at bay.
“This is what we were worried about?! “ Chutzpar asked, an annoyed frown on his face.
With a single move move, Chutzpar drove his fist into the timberwolf’s side, sending the creature flying into the base of a tree and causing small fragments of the beast to fly in all directions.
Rising to his hooves with a grunt, Chutzpar brushed himself off and turned his attention to the timberwolf, who was doing the same.
The wooden canine glowered at the man-bull, its head lowered and its teeth bared exposed for all to see, as a low growl emanated from its maw.
“That suppose to scare me, tough guy?” Chutzpar said, a brow raised and a smirk on his mouth. “Well come on then, let’s see what you got!”
With a loud bark the timberwolf bolted toward Chutzpar, its eyes locked onto its intended prey.
Just as the beast was right in front of him, he plunged his fist downward with the aim of plowing the creature’s head into the ground.
But with only mere milliseconds to spare, the timberwolf dodged the opposing fist and maneuvered around the mighty bull.
Momentarily stunned by the sudden impact of his fist against solid ground, Chutzpar was caught off guard as the creature leapt upon his back and drove its teeth into his shoulder, prompting a painful grunt from the man-bull.
“Guys,” Dipper shouted. “Come on, we gotta help him!”
“Don’t you dare,” Chutzpar grunted. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the creature by its lower half. “I can handle this, MYSELF!” he shouted as he hurled the creature off of his back and to the ground. Grasping the creature by its throat, Chutzpar proceed to plunge his fist into the creature's muzzle, taking off chunks of wood with each blow. As the timberwolf struggled to escape the man-bull’s grasp, it desperately clawed at its assailants arm. Slowly though, the struggling began to lessen until its limbs finally slipped off the manotaur’s arm and fell to the ground as the light in its eyes slowly dimmed.
Streams of blood poured from the cuts and gouges that riddled the manotaur’s body. As he released his hand from the creature's throat, he proceeded to rotate his neck bringing forth a symphony of cracks.
Dipper finally managed to squirm his way out of the Multi-Bear’s grasp and ran to Chutzpar’s side.
“Dude,” he exclaimed, a smile on his face. “That was amazing!”
An angry snort emanated from his nostrils as he nudged the wooden corpse with one of his hooves.
“That’s it?” he asked, a smirk on his face as he turned back to Dipper. “It was scrappy, I’ll give it that. But if these flimsy wooden wuss hounds is what what’s-his-face is calling an army,” he said, raising his hoof and positioning it above the timberwolf’s head. “Then we should be able to take care of this before lunch.” he finished, slamming his hoof down, shattering the creature's skull.
“I congratulate you on your victory, Chutzpar,” the Multi-Bear said, his voice hushed and his eyes shifting. “But I fear that we may need to delay any celebrations.”
“Pffft, yeah right.” Chutzpar said, waving a dismissive hand. “You saw what happened, I opened up a can of butt-kicking on its sorry wooden tail.”
“Yes,” the Multi-Bear said. “But don’t you think it was a little too easy?”
“With theses babies?” Chutzpar said, raising his biceps which he proceeded to flex. “ I don’t think so.” he said planting a kiss to each arm.
“What do you mean ‘too easy’?” Dipper asked.
“You saw the same fight as I,” the Multi-Bear said, turning his main head to the boy. “It easily could have scored a devastating blow to our friend’s ankle, crippling him in the process. Yet instead, it went for a minor strike on Chutzpar’s shoulder instead.”
“Maybe it was just stupid?” Chutzpar said.
“No,” the Multi-Bear said, his tone increasing in dread. “Gentlemen, I think we were being distr—”
“Uh, bros,” a shaky voice said from behind the three. “We have company.”
The three looked to the forest and their pupils immediately shrank to pinpricks.
Edging toward them were countless sets of glowing green eyes that now surrounded the small army. Their owners, considerably larger than the opponent they had just encountered. Their heads now reaching chest level of the man-bulls, their frames far bulkier, reinforced with layers of hardened wood, and their open maws revealed two rows of jagged, sharpened spears. Leaking out the corners of each and every set of eyes, were wisping purple flames.
“Hm,” Chutzpar said with a furrowed brow. “So what, the big bad wolves look a little scarier. It’ll take a few extra minutes, tops, to take care of these losers and we’ll be on our way.”
Just as Chutzpar finished, the corpse that had once been lifeless, quickly started to disassemble itself. An eerie green aura surrounded each and every piece as they quickly reassembled away from the trio, taking additional parts from the forest floor. In a matter of seconds, the opponent which had taken only moments to defeat, was once again standing in front of them, its form matching that of its brothers. Yet it stood at least a head taller than Chutzpar and adorned a row of black crystals running along the length of its spine. As it stared at the three, dark purple flames began emanating from the corners of its eyes, and a noticeable sneer appeared on its muzzle.
Chutzpar and the others gulped.
“Regeneration,” Dipper said, his voice quivering. “Did not know they could do that.”
The three slowly retreated back into the circle, walking backwards as not to be caught off guard by the wooden hounds, their eyes never leaving the encroaching beasts.
“No problem,” Chutzpar said, unsheathing his makeshift battle hammer—which comprised of a thick pipe with a fire hydrant attached. “Just means me and the boys might get a proper work out now.”
Chutzpar turned to Dipper, whose eyes were still glued to the timberwolf as his body visibly shook.
“Hey,” Chutzpar grunted, quickly gaining Dipper’s attention. “Now's the time where you put your money where your mouth is. If you were serious about what you said about Twilight, now’s the time to prove it. But I need to know right now, that you’re not about to chicken out, and you’re going to stand and fight. If you are, then I got your back one hundred percent. But if you’re not, you better find a tree and climb it now, cause things are about to get nuts really fast.”
As Chutzpar finished, Dipper took in a deep breath and his shaking stopped. Reaching down with his right hand, he drew his sword and grasped it in both hands as he held it in front of him. He blinked once and when he opened his eyes, his brow furrowed and a look of fiery determination glowed brightly in his eyes.
“Heh,” Chutzpar said, his eyes returning to his foes. “There may be hope for you yet, Destructor.”
---------------------------
Deep within the psyche of the dark, king past decades upon decades of unspeakable acts, and hidden just inside the realm of conscious memory, there is a door apart from all the rest.
Where most of the memories the trio encountered were held behind doors of blackened crystal or ice and came in the standard rectangular from, this one, however, was in the shape of a square crystal and glowed crimson red through the multitude of chains and locks that covered the entrance.
The three beings stared at the door, silently taking in the sight before them.
“So,” Stan started. “You think this is it?”
“Seriously?” Bill asked, his eye taking on a slightly confused expression. “This has to be the most ominous and out of place thing here, apart from us.”
“He’s right,” Discord said. “And besides, it’s not like we have any other leads. Alright Bill, make with the ‘master of the mind’ business and get us in there.”
“I don’t know.” Bill said, as he floated over to the chains. His eye half lidded as rubbed his hand underneath it, inspecting the restraints up and down. “These chains are made out of solid mindtanium. I’m not sure I can bust through this stuff.”
“What?!” Discord and Stan shouted.
“Yup,” Bill said as he turned to the two. “This stuff is the real deal. It could take days or months or even—” With a single snap of his fingers the chains were gone and the door gently swung open. “Ahahaha, oh, you should have seen the looks on your faces!”
The two other beings stared at their triangular comrade, a deadpan expression on both of their faces as they brushed past the smug trickster.
“Whew,” Bill said, following in after them. ”But seriously, how do you guys keep forgetting how awesome I am?”
As Bill entered, the door slammed shut with a loud boom, causing the three to quickly turn around just in time to see the entrance blink out of existence.
“Well,” Stan said. “Guess there’s no going back now.”
As the three progressed further into the room they soon discovered that this wasn’t simply a single memory, but a collection of different memories. Hundreds upon hundreds of medium sized squares floated aimlessly throughout the room, as they each played out a different memory. But like the door, the memories displayed differed vastly from the ones previously encountered. Instead of horrendous acts of torture and violence, theses memories all appeared to be happy and revolved around a single individual.
“I have to say,” Stan said, as he gently pushed away a stray memory from his head, “this is quite the improvement over what we’ve been seeing.”
“Indeed,” Discord said. Reaching up, he plucked a memory from the air and held it in front of his face. “Although I’m relieved at the change of pace, one must wonder why all these memories are gathered up in one spot.”
“What are you three doing here?”